HONG KONG (Reuters) - Abrdn ( SLFPF ) is in advanced talks with Citic Bank to launch an asset management joint venture in China, two people with knowledge of the matter said, as the British firm looks to bolster its presence in the world's second-largest economy.

The discussions follow a warming in British-Sino relations and contrast with decisions by several Western financial institutions in recent years to either cut China jobs or shelve their expansion plans on concerns about the health of the Chinese economy and tensions between Beijing and Washington.

Abrdn ( SLFPF ), the UK's second-largest independent asset manager, expects to hold a majority stake in the venture with the rest owned by Citic Bank's unit Citic Wealth, said the people who declined to be identified as the talks are confidential.

Citic Wealth is China's third-largest bank-owned wealth management unit with 2 trillion yuan ($275 billion) in assets as of the end of last of year.

Abrdn ( SLFPF ) declined to comment. Citic Bank, the main banking arm of China's central government-owned conglomerate Citic Group, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Abrdn ( SLFPF ) and Citic Bank have been in talks for the last couple of years about either setting up a venture in mainland China or abrdn taking a stake in Citic Wealth, said the sources.

The discussions gained fresh impetus after the revival of high-level economic and financial talks between China and the UK last month after having been frozen for nearly six years, they added.

($1 = 7.2724 Chinese yuan )